A long love story ended last week at a German zoo in Muenster. Petra the swan and her swan-shaped pedal boat parted ways.
Petra, a black swan, became very attached to the boat in the picture in 2006. She followed the boat around and didn't mind people taking pictures of her and her "mate." She refused to leave the boat's side.
The boat's owner said that as long as Petra wanted to be with the boat, he wouldn't separate the two.
PHOTO:AP
Over the winter it was too cold to leave the boat in the lake. So both Petra and the boat were taken to a pond in the city zoo.
Local residents contributed money to move the two to the pond. For them, Petra had become a minor celebrity.
However, Petra met a live swan this winter. Zoo director Joerg Adler says she and her new mate, a white swan, are building a nest together.
The boat was returned to its owner last week.
(STAFF WRITER,WITH AP)
一段長久的愛情故事上週在德國敏斯特一家動物園畫下句點；天鵝佩卓和她那天鵝造型的腳踏船戀人分手了。
黑天鵝佩卓二ＯＯ六年開始迷戀上圖片中的這艘天鵝船，船在哪裡她就跟到哪裡，一點也不在乎遊客拍下她和她「配偶」的照片，她就是不肯離開這艘船。
這艘船的主人說，只要佩卓想待在腳踏船愛人身邊，他不會拆散這一對。
冬天時，因為天氣太冷，必須把船移開湖面，所以佩卓和船雙雙被移到市立動物園的一個池塘。
當地居民捐錢贊助佩卓和天鵝船的遷徙費用，因為對他們而言，佩卓已經小具名氣。
然而，佩卓今年冬天認識了一隻真正的天鵝，動物園園長約格．阿德勒說佩卓和她的新伴侶─一隻白天鵝已共築愛巢。
這艘天鵝船也在上週物歸原主了。
（美聯社／翻譯：袁星塵）
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